Crawling
by Ashura Satoshi
Summary: Norman Maple, King of Hoenn, is in desperate need of assistance. His kingdom is under threat from King of Kanto and Johto, having heard rumors of "The Shadow," the most feared man in the Kanto region, Norman attempts to bring this rogue warrior onto his side, to protect his children – May and Max - and assist him in holding off the oncoming Kanto/Johto forces.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, welcome to this collaboration fic between me - Advanced Faith - and the brilliant Ashura Satoshi! Just a brief introduction to the story and how it will work; we will write alternate chapters, send them to each other, read over them, and then Ashura will post it onto his account. So, I've written this chapter, Ashura will write chapter 1, I will write chapter 2, and so on and so forth. So without further ado, we bring you "Crawling."**

* * *

_-Prologue-_

_..._

It was a warm, but pleasant night in the Kanto Region, the moon shone brightly in the darkened sky, illuminating the apparently vacant streets of Viridian City.

The streets appeared empty, but something lurked in the shadows, a legend amongst Kanto and Johto residents, the myth was also spreading to the other powerful regions, such as Hoenn and Sinnoh.

Blue eyes shone out of the darkness, scanning a buoyant local tavern across the street, his client had not yet arrived, but the noise was bugging him, giving him a headache.

"Let's go get this done," a voice growled from the darkness, and he stepped out of the darkness. He stood at least six feet tall; he wore dark grey trousers that tucked into his blue hiking boots, a dark blue tunic over long grey sleeves. On his hands he wore distinctive blue gloves; each had a blue "bulb" on them, with yellow lines extending around his wrist and up the arm of the gloves. He had a black cape tied around his neck, with a hood pulled up that covered his face. On top of his head there was a pointy black hat, with a dark blue strap around it.

A blue lightning bolt was embroidered onto his hat, alongside a yellow circle, surrounded by a yellow crescent moon – the mark of an Aura Guardian, and onto the torso of his tunic, the symbol of who he was.

He was also recognizable by the small Pokémon that leapt onto his shoulder as he walked towards the tavern; its ears twitching at the irritating noise of people enjoying themselves.

He pushed the door to the tavern open, and stepped inside, surveying the surroundings, relishing the look of fear and surprise on the faces of the people drinking as they recognized who he was.

He spotted an empty table for his "meeting" to take place, and strolled through the packed, but silent tavern.

Silent, but for the whispers that rang around the occupants.

"Surely that's not…?"

"It can't be The Shadow, why would he be here?"

"It has to be! That's the mark of the Aura Guardian, and everyone knows there's only one left!"

His eyes shifted quickly to the source of this conversation, two well-built men sat in a booth on his left, the conversation ended instantaneously.

He then turned to the barmaid, held up one finger, and pointed to the empty table he was headed towards. No words spoken, but the barmaid instantly rushed to fetch a pint of beer.

She shuffled over to the table where he sat, and placed it down, shaking, but focusing on not spilling a drop.

He pulled out a couple of coins and slid them across the table to her, before leaning back in his chair, and placing his feet on the table, taking a few gulps of his beer, waiting for his client to arrive.

He wasn't kept waiting long, shortly after the door swung open again, and a tall, muscular man entered the bar, he himself appeared to strike fear into many of the taverns occupants.

The client spotted him sat at the table, and strode over purposefully, dragging the chair away from the table, and sitting down on it, holding himself in a position that suggested he was trying to strike fear into the cloaked figure across the table.

"You got the horns?" the client growled, making the cloaked figure chuckle, he reached down and in a blue flash, a bag appeared in his hand. He lifted it up and went to give it to the client, who eagerly snatched at the bag, only to find it wasn't there.

The cloaked figure dangled it teasingly by his side.

"Payment," he said, his confident smirk the only part of his face visible to the client.

"Fine," the client growled, lifting what appeared to be a bag of coins onto the table and sliding it across. The cloaked figure's eyes flashed blue once more, as he scanned the bag. Seemingly satisfied, he took the bag of coins, and they disappeared in a similar blue flash to the one that the other bag had appeared in, startling the client across the table.

The cloaked figure then placed his bag on the table, and slid it across; the client opened it and frowned.

"We agreed on three, there are only two," he growled dangerously, glaring at the cloaked figure.

"A shame, because you also paid for three," the cloaked figure smirked, taking another gulp of his beer, maintaining his calm and collected appearance.

This seemed to irritate the client, who stood up angrily, making the chair he was seated on fly across the tavern.

"I want my third Rhyperior horn!" he shouted, slamming his hands on the table, attracting the attention of everyone in the tavern.

The smirk vanished from the cloaked figures face, and he slowly stood up from his seat, and action that made shivers fly down the client's spine.

The air seemed to drop to below freezing, what had been an exceedingly warm night – by Kanto's standards – had turned into a winter morning.

The client gulped nervously as he watched the cloaked figure's eyes shine blue once more, and another shiver shot down his spine as he looked down to the table and saw yellow mouse smirking dangerously back at him.

The mouse hadn't been there during the meeting, and all of a sudden it was?

Fear struck the man, like a punch to the stomach, as he finally realized who he had been doing business with.

"No way… you can't be Shadow… he's just a myth! You're just a teenage boy playing tricks and mind games! All smoke and mirrors!" the man panicked, his eyes darting around the tavern for any sign that this was all an illusion.

The smirk once again returned to Shadow's lips.

"Why, it seems that you finally understand who I am, not many people do business with me without knowing who I am," Shadow mused, his eyes still glowing blue.

The rest of the tavern was silent; all the occupants – barmaid included – were unable to tear their attentions away from the scene unfolding before them.

"I seem to recall you saying you wanted a third Rhyperior horn, correct?" Shadow asked, his voice oozing with power and danger simultaneously.

The man gulped and nodded at the same time, Shadow chuckled dangerously.

"Get it yourself," he growled, as his eyes shone brighter and brighter, blinding everyone in the tavern.

Once the light had died down, the man had disappeared, only Shadow and his Pokémon remained at the table, and he was sat casually, sipping at his beer, as if the meeting had never taken place.

Everyone in the tavern watched Shadow drink; completely confused and absolutely terrified at what they had just witnessed.

Suddenly, Shadow's head whipped up and he glared back at the taverns occupants.

"Weren't you ever taught it's rude to stare?" he asked, raising an eyebrow under his hood.

"I-If yo-you don't mind me asking… what just happened?" a man sat near to him asked, stammering through the entire question.

Shadow smirked.

"He wanted his Rhyperior horn… I sent him to see if he could get it himself," Shadow chuckled, the man he had answered gulped nervously, before raising the courage to ask his next question.

"Are… you really Shadow?" he asked quietly.

Shadow's smirk grew.

"Come on Pikachu, I think we're done here," Shadow said, and the yellow mouse leapt up off the table, and onto Shadow's shoulder, both sharing the same dangerous smirk.

Shadow left the tavern that night, feeling pleased in the knowledge that his already feared reputation was undoubtedly going to be enhanced.

Little did Shadow know, that his reputation was going to bring him into a whole new world, a polar opposite to what he had been used to, as his rumor spread across the lands.

He had already ruled the seedy streets of Kanto and Johto, but soon, his legend would take him to a region he had yet to conquer.

Into the land of a desperate King, a frustrated Queen, an ambitious Prince, and a beautiful Princess, into a land threatened by war.

Hoenn loomed for Shadow, and it would be the region where he faced, indisputably, the most difficult test of his young life.

End.

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**Hope you enjoyed the prologue to Crawling; please let us know what you think in reviews!**

**Wishing all of you a Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year.**

**Advanced Faith signing out.  
**

**Alright, so basically what Advanced Faith said. Hope you all enjoyed the prologue, and hope you all have a nice Christmas Eve. Happy holidays! ~Ashura Satoshi**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello everyone! Ashura Satoshi here with the very first chapter to...dun dun dun! "Crawling!" Hope you like the chapter, and don't forget to leave a review for us! And Happy Holidays once again!**

* * *

_Thump. Thump. Thump Thump._ Was the sound that came from underneath the Aura Guardian's Rapidash, as it strode swiftly across the clearing of the forest.

Shadow was mounted firmly atop of the horses' back; reigns in both hands, and his yellow rat companion was in its usual spot on his master's shoulder. Although it was extremely dark and unsafe to ride at this time of night, Rapidash's flame and the boy's aura senses were more than enough to suffice for the trip.

In fact, every single second Pikachu and Shadow were in the forest, neither were breaking from the focus they had of what lay before them, constantly on the lookout of ambush or thieves that may cross their path.

Shadow's blue eyes momentarily flickered from underneath his hood and the two began nearing their destination.

Through the forest, onto the cement, and past the gates, the two had come to the place.

"Kanto Kingdom," Shadow smirked, continuing to ride, though at a much slower pace into the region.

…

In the meanwhile, civilians and knights from across the Kanto region were looking in the boy's direction wide eyed, stepping back to allow the figure to pass by in the dead night. The only source of lighting was the bright moon that shone and torches set neatly all around the kingdom.

A loud wave of whispers and conversations had been brought up. Each and every one of them revolving around the boy on the Rapidash.

Shadow and Pikachu, just ignored the awkward stares and whispers they received, and instead, casually strode through the kingdom, until something intriguing occurred.

"Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!" …

The constant chants caused Pikachu's ears to twitch irritably as the yellow rat had nudged his master to notify him of what was happening.

"I know…I hear it too," Was all Shadow said, tugging the reins to order Rapidash to move in the direction of the chants.

Upon arriving to the loud shrieks and screams, more noises, to what appeared to be swords clashing were audible.

Taking a closer peek at what was happening; Shadow hopped off his mount, and then recalled Rapidash to its pokeball.

"Let's check it out," the boy had said.

"Pika Pi."

The two walked up to the enormous group huddled in a huge circle in the middle of the kingdom, with the men holding alcoholic beverages in hand, and occasionally throwing coins in the middle of the circle.

Shadow dug his head in the gap of a few people, seeing that two knights were swinging at each other. Each armed with longswords and bodies concealed with shining armor.

With one upper block, one of the knights had kicked the other down to the ground, then pointing the tip of his sword at the man's neck.

"Victory!" He screamed.

In response, loud cheers were made with the rattling of what seemed like coins audible as well.

Shadow grinned, and stepped up, pushing past a few people, causing them to shriek and step back.

Once he had reached the middle of the circle, the two knights had immediately looked over at him.

Gasping, the victorious knight had spoken disbelievingly. "...S-S-Shad-dow? Why you can't be real! You're only a myth!" He pointed out, recognizing the blue lighning bolt symbol.

The boy merely chuckled, and stepped closer to the two knights, forcing them both to step back a few steps from where they just were.

"I challenge the two of you to a fight," He said.

"W-WHAT?!" The knight exclaimed.

In a poor attempt, the knight who had lost the previous match had tried to flee the scene, only to be stopped.

Shadow's eyes glew bright blue. So blue that it shown through the darkness of the hood that covered his face. He pysically brang the man to a halt.

"Oh please. You're a knight. You were trained to never back down from a challenger," Shadow growled.

The knight who was slightly midair, covered in a blue aura, gasped, sweating bullets from fear. "Let me go!" He pleaded, trying to break free.

Everyone around were terribly terrified. Some had run away from the scene, while most had kept silent, watching patiently for what was to come next.

Reluctantly letting go of the poor soul, Shadow spoke. "So the challenge. Are you willing to accept it? Or are you going to just have to be the poor excuse of a knight that you two are?"

"Alright! Fine! We accept your challenge. Two on one. Let's get this going!" The victorious knight had shouted.

Deep down, he had been hoping that this kid was just a fake, and that there was a chance of winning.

Nonetheless, he would NOT want to appear like a chicken, no matter how bad he was of hiding his true emotion. Besides, this was a basic discipline of being a knight. NEVER back down from a fight.

The two knights shakily withdrew their swords once again, while Shadow had gotten on the opposite side of them, preparing themselves for battle.

The group had again regrouped and huddled around the match, but nobody had been cheering this time around. Only watching in utter silence.

"Hey Pikachu, I'm gonna need you to hop off until I win this, ok?"

The yellow rat had obediently nodded and hopped off his master's trainer with no sweat, running back to get a good view of the fight as well.

Just then, Shadow clasped his two hands together and stretched them out, revealing a light blue, supernatural sword.

"Wow...Aura," The knights simultaneously gaped.

"Your moves," Shadow said, offering the knights a first strike.

However, neither were willing to take it. Instead they just shook in fear. Each knight persuading the other to go first.

Alas, the victorious one had stepped up and charged straight at the boy.

Without even flinching, Shadow, at an unrealistic speed blocked the strike, followed with a strike of his own with the blue, mystic like sword, causing it to heavily scratch the silver armor.

Shrieking in pain, the other knight lunged forward and swung his sword to help his friend out, but to no avail.

Shadow had already blocked that hit too, and followed with a knee to that guy's chest.

In response, the knight heaved from such a heavy blow, then looking up to be kicked straight in the face.

One knight down. One to go.

Shadow turned his attention over to the last knight. In other words, the one who had won the mini competition against the fallen one.

"Your turn," Shadow smirked from underneath his hood.

Releasing his grip on his aura sword, it disappeared instantly. But that wasn't all he had planned to do.

Raising one hand up, a ball of aura had formed in the palm of his hand.

"Oh no…." The man mentally cursed before being shot with a powerful aura sphere.

And he was knocked out too.

Shortly after, the audience witnessing the fight just stared at the boy with their jaws practically reaching the hard cold cement below.

Who was this…person? A monster? A god? Gosh, they had yet to figure out.

Their thought had no time to process as the boy was already gone.

…

* * *

**(/Scene Change\\)**

Somewhere off in the Hoenn Kingdom, a distressed king slammed his hands into the middle of the dining table where his family currently sat.

Caroline, his wife attempted to reassure him. "Norman…honey it's going to be okay-"

"No it won't!" He abruptly cut her off as he rested his face in the palm of his right hand, gazing out of one of the windows in the living room where they all sat.

May and Max, their children had watched as their parents had went back and forward with each other…something that had been presenting a great deal of stress on the king. His kingdom would potentially be at war and with two of the strongest Kingdoms in the world: Kanto and Johto.

He had no idea how he would overcome this. Norman was definitely a great king and father, but he often put the fate of his kingdom before his family. But he NEEDED to get help for the protection of his kids, family, and his people.

"...I'm going to go take a walk. I think it should help me clear my mind a bit," The king declared.

Caroline looked sadly at her husband, but nodded. She was a very caring person, but unlike Norman, her loyalty was stronger with her kids. Not that she wasn't loyal to her own kingdom of course.

Then there were their kids. May and Max Maple. Max, who was the prince of the Hoenn Kingdom, aimed to be the strongest prince he could be. He was a 15 year old boy, who just loved to annoy the snot out of his sister.

And then we come to his sister. May Maple, a 17 year old girl. She is classified as a very sweet person, who always sees the best in people. No matter how hostile or aggressive they may seem. It was a valuable quality of hers. And that pretty much made her the nice person she was.

Caroline, May, and Max now watched as the head of the family pushed past the doors of the living room and out into the large Hoenn Kingdom.

…

* * *

The King of Hoenn was now walking on the thick cement as he was constantly being greeted appropriately by his people.

Acknowledging them and greeting them back, Norman walked on as he heard a group of people ramble about something.

He thought nothing of it, until he heard something that particularly sparked an interest in him. "Warrior... Guardian... Shadow…"

The name seemed a bit familiar to him, but he had no memory of who he was. Wasn't he a myth? He wasn't completely sure of himself.

"Yeah! And I heard he knocked them each out with only two hits!" One of the men gossiped.

"Impossible!" The other in the group shouted.

Norman's eyes had rose upon hearing that, but thought better to stop listening.

Once he stopped his eavesdropping, he continued on with his walk, mentally prepping himself for what his next actions would be.

End


	3. Chapter 3

**Sup guys! Advanced Faith here to bring you Chapter 2 of "Crawling." Hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

Norman could not stop thinking about it.

That conversation… he was almost certain he'd heard of a myth surrounding this "Shadow."

He just couldn't shrug it off, and re-entered the Castle in, arguably, a worse frame of mind than when he left it.

"Warrior… Guardian… Shadow…" Norman muttered, recalling the words that he had picked out of the conversation, as well as the power "Shadow" seemed to possess, according to the two men who were discussing "it."

Norman knew someone who lived in the Castle who would know about Guardians, as he had originated from Kanto, where most of the Guardians had been living, until the King, who feared an uprising, had wiped them out.

The same King that was tormenting Norman with the prospect of war.

Norman had to make an assumption about what the men meant by "Guardian," as there were multiple meanings to the word, but a "Guardian" with the ability to fight like that, and with the word being used in the context the two men had used it in? There was only one variety of "Guardian" like that, that Norman was aware of.

Aura Guardians.

Norman headed straight to the Castle's kitchen, he had to meet with their head chef, feeling that, if this Guardian truly existed, this was the one person who would give him and honest, and decisive answer.

Norman entered the kitchen, and received the standard reception; everyone bowed to him and called out "greetings, your majesty!"

The King smiled briefly, before he sought out the head chef, which wasn't easy. The kitchen was enormous, and lined with counters and cupboards, cooling systems and stoves, cooking utensils hung above the counters, all along the walls, but were there weren't counters, there were people. The Castle employed hundreds of cooking staff, to ensure that everyone was kept satisfied by the meals they ate, as one the more powerful regions, Hoenn often held banquets and meetings with highly important people, so the variety of expertise in the kitchen was essential.

"Brock, I require your assistance, if you please?" Norman shouted out, hoping that the head chef would find his way to the King. He didn't have to wait long, shortly after he called out, a tall, thin man made his way through the crowd, he had dark brown spiky hair, and was currently in his white chefs uniform, with a red and white checkered pattern on his apron, his eyes… well, no one could tell what color his eyes were, he never seemed to have them open.

Brock bowed as he approached Norman, speaking as he did so.

"You have summoned me, sir?"

Norman smiled.

"There is no need for such formality, Brock, you are a trusted member of staff, and essentially part of the family," Norman said, shaking his head and grinning at Brock's formality. Norman did speak the truth, although Norman wouldn't be aware of it or acknowledge the fact, but Brock was almost a stand in father to May and Max, seeing as he didn't have much to do during the day, other than breakfast, lunch and dinner, he would spend a lot of time with the Maple children.

"As you wish, sir," Brock said, standing upright, a big smirk on his face; Norman enjoyed the humorous back and forth, but he swiftly remembered the pretense he had entered the kitchen on, and his face turned serious.

"May I have a word with you in some privacy?" Norman requested, gesticulating towards the door, hinting that the kitchen was not the place to have this discussion. Brock noticed the King's serious expression, and nodded, prompting Norman to turn around, and leave the kitchen, Brock in tow.

The two swiftly walked through the Castle corridors, towards the room where Norman held most of his meetings, whether they be about the financial well-being of the Region, war meetings, or just staff requests, all private business took place in this room, formal or in-formal.

The two entered the room, which was very large, not as large as the kitchen, but it had a ominous feeling to it, with a large rectangle table in the middle, which could seat up to fifty people at a time, the walls and floor were made of a grey flint material, which gave the room a cold chill; two statues of armor were at the head of the room, stood in front of a huge glass mosaic, which let most of the light into the room. At the head of the table was a large chair, where Norman took his place, indicating for Brock to do the same; in the chair right next to Norman.

Once the duo were settled, Norman let out a big, frustrated sigh.

"Brock, you are from Kanto, correct?" Norman asked, rubbing his forehead, before bring his hand down his face, and looking at Brock with desperate eyes.

"That is correct, born in Pewter City, but grew up in Pallet Town," Brock answered, confused by the Kings behavior, but being polite enough not to question it.

"Do you have any knowledge of the Guardians that originated from Kanto?" Norman asked, searching Brock's face for any hint that he may be concealing information.

"I have some knowledge of them, yes, but I have more knowledge on some varieties than others," Brock replied, Norman's spirits were lifted slightly, if Brock had a knowledge of Aura Guardians then this "Shadow" person might just be Norman's, and Hoenn's salvation.

"Am I correct in assuming that Aura Guardians, both originated in Kanto, and are the most effective battlers of all the Guardians?" Norman asked, leaning forward in his seat in anticipation.

Brock was exceedingly confused as to why Norman had spontaneously brought up the subject of Aura Guardians, especially since they had all been wiped out.

"Well, all but one," Brock thought, reminiscing about his tainted time growing up in Pallet Town.

"That is correct, Norman, Aura Guardians had an exceptional battle style, both powerful and beautiful at the same time, but I have to admit, I am confused as to why you are asking me these questions, if you don't mind me saying," Brock admitted, he had laid the bait, he wanted an admission from Norman, but Brock knew that subtlety was the best way to get answers from the King.

"Well, I was out for a walk, to clear my head, and I overhead two men talking about a warrior, they called him a Guardian, and it brought back a rumor I had heard, and also the knowledge that Guardians originated from Kanto, and that the best fighters were Aura Guardians, and since you also originated from Kanto, I thought that if anyone would have the knowledge, and the honesty, it would be you," Norman revealed, leaning back in his large chair, looking up at the grey roof.

Brock was surprised, but had a small smile on his face, almost a look of pride, but he waited for the answer to his next question.

"What was this rumor, Norman?" Norman looked back over to Brock, who had swiftly hidden the smile, trying not to give away any of his Kanto past.

"A rumor about an Aura Guardian who was so powerful, deadly and dangerous, that he is the most feared being in all of Kanto's and Johto's seedy underbelly, and has identical aura to the great Sir Aaron… but is even more powerful… but it can't be about him, he must've been wiped out in the great Aura War… all the adult Guardians were sent to arms, and never came back," Norman summarized, looking back up to the roof as he spoke, which made him miss another smile creep onto Brock's face.

"Well, you are right in the power aspect, but the age you are very wrong," Brock thought. He would've revealed his knowledge to Norman, but he was certain that it would come back to bite him if he did.

Brock did have one more question though.

"Did you catch the name of the rumored Guardian?"

Norman looked back at Brock and answered with one word.

"Shadow."

* * *

She had heard the entire conversation.

The bluenette had been trying to find something that the Princess had left behind when the two had been mucking about in the meeting room.

When she heard the door open, she scurried behind one of the many pillars that supported the room.

The conversation confused her, why was the King suddenly interested in Aura Guardians and this Shadow guy?

Dawn was incredibly confused, as she ensured that Norman and Brock weren't aware of her presence.

The bluenette was the Princess' best friend, they had grown up together, what with Dawn's mother being a financial advisor to the King, Dawn and May had spent a lot of time together, and naturally, became excellent friends.

Dawn glanced down at the item in her hands and a look of shock shot across her face. It was a book. Not just any book. It was a book about Aura Guardians.

Dawn couldn't believe the coincidence. She had to blink several times, just to ensure she wasn't imagining things.

She had no idea that May had an interest in Aura Guardians, and now suddenly, so did the King? It was safe to say that Dawn was feeling rather confused.

As quietly as she could, Dawn gently turned the pages to the contents, making sure that Norman and Brock couldn't hear that she was there, and scanned down the different chapters within the book. There were chapters about the origins of Aura, the varieties of Aura and so on.

One chapter stood out to Dawn, it was labelled "Legends of Aura," considering the conversation she had just heard, she felt drawn to that chapter, swiftly, but quietly, turning the pages until she reached the desired page.

"Shadow… Shadow… Shadow…" Dawn whispered quietly, scanning through the pages, looking for anything about this mysterious man.

Nothing.

Dawn then remembered that they had spoken about a Sir Aaron, so she rescanned the pages, looking for anything written about Sir Aaron.

"There's got to be something here," Dawn thought, as she reached the last page of the chapter, and finally, the last paragraph, all about Sir Aaron.

Now, was there anything that could link Sir Aaron to this "Shadow"?

Dawn read through the paragraph thoroughly, which spoke all about Sir Aaron's involvement with the Great Aura War and his powerful Lucario, nothing about Shadow.

That was, until the final line.

"Sir Aaron was one of the final Guardians killed in the Aura War, believed to have stood firm guarding Pallet Town, where it is believed that his wife and son had lived."

Dawn's jaw dropped, they were talking about Sir Aaron's son, surely? If he had identical aura, then surely he was a direct descendent?

Dawn's brain was working overtime, if Sir Aaron had a son, then wouldn't the son have been sent to war too?

"Unless… the son was too young!" Dawn thought, her eyes wide in shock at what she might have discovered.

Closing the book, and glancing around the pillar she had been hiding behind, Dawn noticed that Norman and Brock had left the room, and she hastily did the same, nervously peeking around the door as she did, desperate not to be caught.

The coast was clear, and Dawn made her way straight to the Princess's quarters, desperate to reveal to May what she had heard, and what she might have possibly figured out about this "Shadow."

Dawn didn't even knock; she just opened the doors and walked straight into the Princess's bedroom, unaware that the Princess was having her usual afternoon nap.

Dawn faltered, staring at the beautiful, sleeping Princess, her brunette hair cascading down her face and onto her pillow, her sparkling sapphire eyes concealed. A beam of light seemed to shine through the curtains and fall directly onto her face, giving her an almost angelic glow.

Dawn would have left, but the Princess seemed to squeak in her sleep, and a troubled expression formed on her face. Dawn frowned.

"Another nightmare…" Dawn thought sadly, watching the Princess toss and turn, it came on so quickly, one minute she was sleeping soundly, then all of a sudden her dreams became disturbed, and she'd fidget around the bed, unable to control her movements.

"May…" Dawn whispered, walking over to the Princess and lightly shaking her, trying to wake her up as gently as possible.

"May!" Dawn said a little louder, shaking her a bit more frantically.

May's eyes slowly crept open, and her eyes met with Dawn's, and the former shot upright in her bed.

"It happened again…" May mumbled, physically shaking as she sat in her bed, Dawn looked sadly towards her childhood friend.

"Was it the attack again?" Dawn asked, and May nodded slowly, the horrific images flying through her mind.

The soldiers, mercilessly killing anyone who stood in their way, adults and children alike, burning buildings as they went, blue spheres flying through the air.

So many bodies, piled up in the street, soldiers and civilians alike.

The dream always ended the same, a lone man stood atop a hill, blue tunic, grey trousers, blue boots, and a dark blue hat, raven hair sticking out at all angles underneath, the sun seeming to shine behind him on purpose, signifying his importance.

May had been investigating this reoccurring dream for months, trying to figure out who the man was, and why there was such a fight going on.

"May, since when have you been interested in Aura Guardians?" Dawn's question snapped May out of her trance, and the Princess turned to look at Dawn.

"I don't know… I just heard about them in one of my history tutorage sessions, and got more and more interested, I suppose," May answered, before frowning slightly, "Why do you ask, Dawn?"

"Well, your father seems to have taken an unexpected interest in them as well," Dawn replied, smirking slightly at the look of surprise on May's face.

"Why has my dad taken an interest in Aura Guardians? And how did you find out?" May asked, eyes open wide in surprise, inching closer to Dawn, wanting more information.

"I was in the meeting room, looking for this," Dawn held up May's book, "And I overheard him and Brock talking about them, and specifically, Sir Aaron and someone called Shadow."

May's look of confusion remained locked on her face.

"I've heard of Sir Aaron, but not Shadow… Who's he?" May asked, thoroughly intrigued by this new Guardian; Dawn's smug look only grew.

"Well, I'm almost certain that it's Sir Aaron's son!" Dawn exclaimed, enjoying watching May's jaw hit the floor.

"How do you know that?" May questioned, eyes open wide in surprise once again.

"Well, it says in here that Sir Aaron was the last of the Aura Guardians, and he gave his life to protect his town, Pallet, and his wife and son, at the end of the Aura War!" Dawn exclaimed, finding the page in May's book and holding up the paragraph as evidence; May quickly scanned the paragraph and then gestured for Dawn to carry on.

"Brock and your dad were also talking about an extremely powerful Aura Guardian, a myth apparently, who has identical Aura to Sir Aaron… who else would have identical Aura, other than his son?" Dawn asked, eyes sparkling with excitement.

May looked skeptical.

"If he was such a powerful Guardian, why wouldn't he be out there fighting in the Aura War? I thought all male Aura Guardians aged eighteen or above were made to fight in the war to offer the best protection to the Guardians and their legacy?" May questioned, believing she had found a flaw in Dawn's logic.

Dawn's smirk grew even bigger.

"What if he was too young?" May's jaw dropped again, "And… how old would he be now, if he was only a child back then?" Dawn questioned, her excitement clearly evident in her facial expression and tone of voice.

"The Aura War end about Seventeen years ago, didn't it?" Dawn nodded, "Well then he'd be around… Eighteen?" May's eyes shot open, "Sir Aaron's son… The Last of the Aura Guardians! A mere baby when the War was occurring, protected by his fathers sacrifice… What in the name of Arceus could someone that powerful be doing wondering the, well, potentially, World unnoticed?!" May exclaimed, Dawn's discovery finally hitting home.

"That's the thing… he's not," Dawn said, getting another confused look from May, "He's getting himself a reputation… apparently, and this is only what I picked up from your father's conversation with Brock, he's the most feared person in, what your dad called, the Kanto and Johto 'seedy underbelly,'" Dawn explained, once again enjoying the look of surprise on May's face.

"Dawn… you do realize that we have to tell my dad about this?" May queried, her surprised eyes looking straight at Dawn, and it was the latter's turn to be confused.

"Why would we do that?" Dawn asked, "He'd know that I was eavesdropping," Dawn added a guilty look creeping onto her face.

"Think about it, there's been threats from the King of Kanto and Johto that there will be war between our two Kingdoms, the same King that wiped out the Aura Guardians…" At this point Dawn caught onto what May was hinting at.

"And you think that your dad may be able to convince this Shadow guy to join forces with us to take revenge on the man and Kingdom that killed his people?" Dawn summarized, searching May for an indication that she had come to the right conclusion.

May nodded.

No other words were spoken, the duo quickly rushed off in an attempt to find the King, a small smile on May's face.

"Shadow… the son of Sir Aaron… the Last of the Aura Guardians… the protector of Hoenn?" May thought, a determined look crossing onto her face.

"We can only hope."

EOC

* * *

**Well, May and Dawn have found out a lot about Shadow, probably a lot more than he'd want anyone to know!**

**What do you guys think of this Chapter and the story so far? I know I'm having a blast writing this with Ashura!**

**On a side note, I wish you all a happy and healthy New Year!**

**Best Wishes (see what I did there?!)**

**Advanced Faith.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Welcome back everyone to the next chapter to "Crawling!" Hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

The two girls had continued to dash through the enormous castle they were currently in. Taking sharp lefts and rights here and there, they had finally come back to the same living room where Brock and King Norman have been privately talking.

"Father! Father!" May shouted, once stepping into the room with her friend.

"…May? If you don't mind, I'm in an important conversation with-"

"No no! This is about the Aura Guardians," She said back to her father.

"And how did you know we were talking about just that?" He raised a brow at her.

"My apologies, your Majesty, but I couldn't help but overhear your discussion about the Guardians…" Dawn lowered her head in guilt.

"Well…you caught us now. Might as well say what's been on you girls' mind," Norman said quite calmly as he leaned back further into his chair.

May nodded. "Well, as we all know, the Aura Guardians have all been wiped out by the hands of the Kings of Kanto and Johto. However! There remains one still alive. An eighteen year old boy by the name of Shadow who has given himself a dark reputation in Johto and Kanto. We believe that with his help, he can provide Hoenn with our much needed protection."

Norman merely blinked at the new information being transferred to his mind. "Are you positive he is only eighteen? That would explain why he hasn't fought in that war considering you had to be an adult…"

May continued to speak. "And that's the thing. Dawn and I suspect he must be the son of Sir Aaron, the legendary Aura Guardian and the last to be killed in the war."

"I see…" The king trailed off. "But what makes you think that such a mythical warrior would want to help us?"

Dawn cut in. "Well since his people were all killed by Kanto and Johto, we think that he may help to seek vengeance amongst them."

"Well, it's definitely worth a shot…but where on earth would we find him?"

Everyone in the room thought about that for a while, before a metamorphic light bulb appeared over Brock's head, raising a finger at his epiphany. "I'd say you look for him in Pallet Town! Since it's clear to us that he originated from Kanto, why not just start from there?"

"Like we said before it's going to be extremely tough to find him, but we'll give it a shot," Norman said.

The others showed signs of agreement, nodding and throwing in last minute information and ideas.

"Very well. I'll get on horseback and begin my search as soon as possible."

…

Within just minutes, Norman had made his way out of the castle, and into the front of his castle. But right before, he made sure to notify everyone he was leaving shortly, putting his wife temporarily in charge until he was back.

* * *

"Greetings your Majesty! How may I serve you?" The stable boy asked politely, looking up at the king.

Norman smiled and bowed slightly. "I'm in need of a Rapidash. I'm setting off to search for some help."

The worker nodded. "Right away, your Majesty!"

He had opened one of the single stables, revealing a strong and healthy looking Rapidash, as it stepped out and stood next to Norman.

At that moment, the king hopped right on and gripped the pair of reins in his hands.

There was still one more thing he had to do.

Norman did a very brief check on his belongings. Water? Check. Food? Check. Sword? Check. Pokemon? Check. Horse? Yeah he was ready.

The man slapped the reins against the Rapidash, and the two were off at the speed of a bullet.

* * *

…

It had been hours later, and Norman had no such luck of finding his wanted man. This was much harder than he had figured.

Where could a teen boy possibly be in the region?

It was just another while until he reached Pallet Town, but with all his hope, he prayed he would find the boy.

In the meanwhile, Norman's Rapidash slowed its pace down as they approached the tall green hill looking down at Pallet Town.

It was a small town, only around a dozen homes visible, but that would just quicken his search. So that would be a pretty simple task for him.

Norman instructed Rapidash to move down the hill, and the two approached the first house they saw. Starting with that.

When the two of them were pretty much at the front door of the house, Norman hopped off his mount, and tied the reins of the horse to a wooden fence.

The King took a deep breath. Not completely confident all would go well. But he had to try. After all, the fate of his kingdom lay before him.

Norman alas stepped up to the front door and gave it three loud knocks, placing one hand on the handle of his strapped sword just in case.

A few minutes had gone by and no answer from the door. The king just shrugged and just as he was about to turn around and move to his next house, the door flung open.

"Hello…?"

Norman turned around. "Oh, hello Miss. Is there any chance you have heard of a "Shadow" lingering around the region?"

The woman, looking to be around middle aged, jumped back, gripping tightly to the edges of the door, and peeking nervously at Norman.

"Wh-why yes…he happens to be the most feared man in the regions! W-why do you ask?" The lady said just above a whisper.

"Well, I'm in search of him. Any clue where I might find him? I've heard he grew up here with his father being Sir Aaron?"

The woman nodded once again. "Yes. Sir Aaron is not alive today, but his wife, Delia still lives here. She might be able to give a better answer than I. Sorry."

Norman nodded in understanding. "Which house does she live in?"

"The house right across from this one right here," She replied, gesturing towards the home.

The King took a brief moment to look back at the home. It appeared rather small…and a bit run down from most likely all that time passing from the war.

"Thank you very much for the help. All is appreciated."

"No need for thanks…say…you're the King of Hoenn, correct?"

Norman smiled. "That would be me."

"Ah…it's great to meet you your Majesty…best of luck with the Kingdom."

"Thank you Miss."

Just as the woman slowly shut the door, Norman headed to the building across, in hopes he can find more help there.

The king knocked three times on this door, giving off the same loud thuds.

He then patiently waited for a reply, to which he had received momentarily.

The door was pushed open so that what showed was a middle aged woman with light brunette hair. She wore light colored clothes, which seemed a bit old like the state of the home.

And she seemed tired judging by her droopy and baggy eyes.

"Hello…? How may I help you?" The woman said.

"Hello…my name is Norman, the King of Hoenn. Are you Delia Ketchum?"

"Yes, I am...would you like to come in?"

Norman nodded. "If it's no trouble."

The king stepped into the home and it was indeed very small. There was the kitchen to his left, a living room to his right and a staircase up ahead.

The two each took a seat at separate chairs in the living room to discuss what Norman had been wanting to know.

"I came here to ask if you had any idea where your son is. You see, he is one of the most powerful Aura users in the universe, and I desperately need his assistance to protect my kingdom."

"Hmmm...he's that powerful, huh? Well, I hate to say that I don't remember much. I have a mild form of amnesia, so a lot of memories are cloudy for me. And it doesn't really help that I haven't seen my son in years."

"What happened?"

"I don't exactly recall what happened when he left. I'm very sorry."

Norman nodded. "Do you know where he lives at the moment?"

"Well I know for a fact that he doesn't live in Pallet Town anymore. I believe somewhere deeper into the Kanto region is all I can say."

Getting up from his chair, Norman spoke. "That information will suffice for now. I appreciate all the help and my apologies for your unpleasant past. I can understand the things you've been going through."

Delia sighed. "Thank you. And it's alright. I don't want to keep you any longer, so I just want to say good luck with everything. I've tried finding my son myself, but I haven't had such luck."

The King stood frozen in his place, registering what she had just said, before walking out of the home and getting back on his mount.

Whipping the reins, Rapidash left Pallet Town and continued its way through Kanto.

* * *

…

More hours had passed that day, and Norman took a short break in the middle of the forest.

He was currently sitting down, munching on a small meal Brock had prepared just for him, while taking occasional gulps at the water in his leather sack looking bottle.

Norman sighed to himself. He was becoming more discouraged with the lack of progress he had been covering, as well as the feeling of pure pity for Delia.

She was only a poor middle aged woman with amnesia who couldn't even remember the name of her own son. But now that he thought about it, nobody did.

He had put away all the packaged containers which had his afternoon lunch, and his leather water bottle, which he took a few more sips from.

Right as he was about to get back on his Rapidash, he heard something.

"What on earth…?" He thought.

The sounds were becoming clearer and much more audible.

Norman couldn't quite tell what the sounds were, but it sounded similar to Pokemon attacks…that was his guess at least.

Norman walked through the forest, tip toeing through the leaves, and holding an arm behind him to tell Rapidash to stay put.

The King removed the sword from his belt, and had one pokeball in the other hand to prepare himself for an unexpected attack.

He pushed through some shrubs, and past some branches dangling helplessly from the tall trees, until he eventually came to an open area in the forest.

"What's…this?"

Right ahead of him was a man in a blue tunic, hat, boots, gloves, and grey trousers. He couldn't get a good look at who the mystery man was, but he was currently mock fighting with his Lucario.

Norman did nothing but watch. And when he saw the boy dodge a hit from Lucario, his hat was positioned in an angle so that a familiar symbol was shown to him.

It was a blue lightning bolt.

…What? Could it be the boy he was looking for?! It couldn't be! It just seemed too good to be true!

As relieved as he was, the King still remained hidden, as he wanted to see if what he had heard was true about this boy. His power. His abilities. Everything.

Ahead, Lucario was using its Close Combat attack, throwing a powerful blitz of punches and kicks at its master, all to which were dodged swiftly.

The boy waited for an opening, before he moved it and punched the Pokemon in its side, before doing a quick takedown, bringing the jackal like Pokemon to the ground.

With a few seconds passing by, the mysterious boy let go of his Pokemon, and gave him a hand to help him up. "That was a good match Lucario. Thank you for that."

Lucario almost instantaneously kneeled before him and bowed. "It was my pleasure, Master."

The cloaked figure smiled, before he walked over to his own horseback, Rapidash, who was standing patiently by a tree.

As he had hopped on, he returned Lucario, which then brought another familiar Pokemon to jump on his shoulder.

He was just about to slap the reins against his mount to leave, but Norman made his entrance, to which the boy was immediately aware of as soon as a branch cracked underneath Norman's foot.

The boy quickly drew a sword from his belt, and Rapidash turned around to face their foe, which in this case, was Norman.

"Who goes there!" The cloaked figure demanded.

"It's ok….I'm not looking for trouble!" Norman replied truthfully. "I'm the King of Hoenn and I'm only wishing to speak to you for a short time."

The boy didn't seem fully convinced, and kept his sword pointed at Norman. "Do you expect me to believe that? These woods are filled with bandits, so how do you expect me to believe you aren't one of them?"

"My crown and attire. It's one only given to a King," Norman said as he showed his sword as well.

On his sword, were symbols of the Maple family. They were permanently engraved by the finest of sword makers.

The boy took a second and nodded.

At last his eyes glew as he scanned Norman to detect any possible lies coming from him.

But he had found none.

As soon as the boy's eyes had returned to its normal blue color, he hesitantly nodded to him. "Very well then. Follow me to my place and we can discuss what you want further. But it better not be a waste of my time," He bluntly stated before his Rapidash began to slowly walk over to his house.

...Well Norman now knew he was indeed an amazing fighter, but to be honest, he wasn't quite fond of his attitude. He sighed, and jogged over to his mount before walking side by side of him.

* * *

The two walked in silence. King and Aura Guardian each on a Rapidash as they had absolutely nothing to say to each other.

Attempting to break the ice, Norman asked carefully. "So they call you Shadow?..."

Giving no verbal response, Shadow merely nodded, with Pikachu resting peacefully in front of him.

"I see..."

...

A few more minutes of the awkward ride, the two had finally arrived to a small house. It seemed to be homemade, but was in a much better condition than Delia Ketchum's.

The two wasted no time in hopping off their horses and tied their reins to some wooden poles sticking from the ground.

"Follow me," Shadow blankly said, walking into the shelter.

Norman finished up tying his knot in the reins, taking a moment to look up at Shadow.

The King walked in after the boy, and the two were immediately greeted with the living room in the middle of the one story house.

"Take a seat," Shadow told the older man, as he took his own chair, both arms resting on the armrests of the cushioned seat.

"Now, you had something to speak to me of?" Shadow asked as he drank from a mug sitting on the wooden table in front of him.

"Yes…I know about you…uh…Shadow. I know about your abilities and how you're the last of your kind..."

Shadow put his mug down, and cut him off a bit rudely. "Ok save the breath. Where is this going?"

"I come here because I ask you for your help," Norman hopefully said, eyeing the boy with pleading eyes. "My kingdom is under attack from the Kanto and Johto forces. It's just too much for my one kingdom to handle. But with the help of an Aura Guardian, it would provide us plenty of protection. We desperately need your help, so if you would accept…"

Shadow thought for a second. "I think I'm missing the point here. Why exactly would I want to help you?"

"Well…you do have a dark reputation going on in those kingdoms, and plus, you have the opportunity to seek vengeance for the horrible massacre of your people…your father."

"Don't talk about my father! I already know much about him. I certainly don't need to hear him from you," He rudely said.

Norman nodded, respectively. He didn't want to piss this boy off, otherwise how would he earn the help he needed?

"My apologies…so when can I await an answer from you..?"

"…"

Norman gave Shadow his pleading eyes. "Please...it would be the end for my kingdom if you weren't here to help! Tons and tons of innocent lives being taken! We cannot let those armies grow stronger with Hoenn being taken over as well!" Norman said with a more threatening tone. "If you do not accept I shall have you executed!"

Shadow took a few more sips at his drink, before pushing the fluid down his throat. Not even looking a tad bit afraid. "I'll tell you what. I'll consider it, but for now, my answer remains a no."

The Hoenn King placed his face in the palms of his hands and let out a depressed sigh. Well, he may not have gotten the answer he wanted, but at least he got Shadow to think about his request.

"I suggest you be on your way now. Wouldn't want to keep your people waiting without a king," Shadow suggested to him.

Norman turned around and began to make his way to the door, before turning around to face the guardian, who still sat at his chair with his Pikachu snoozing on his lap.

"Farewell then… show up at the Hoenn castle if you've changed your mind."

Shadow said nothing, but took another sip from his drink. Thinking more about the distressed king's request.

End

* * *

**So….how was it? Let us know in a review below!**

**And I want to thank all of you who have been supporting this story! It really means a lot to us!**

**Well!**

**Until next time!**

**~Ashura Satoshi**


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